Optimal frequent flier, hotel, credit card combo

I personally cannot give you any recommendations, but if you haven't already you should ask on Flyertalk.

I agree on the AA + SPG

I use an AA Mastercard (AAdvantage World Elite, Platinum level) and log most of my miles on AA. I can tell you right off the bat that the credit card is a total waste. "World Elite" pretty much doesn't mean anything. In fact, many AA staff at major airports have never even heard of it. As far as I know, it's some marketing invention by Citibank and may not actually even be related to AAdvantage. So I give that card a thumbs down and a C- at best. As for AAdvantage itself, it's a pretty decent FF program. Not too many restricted windows for redeeming miles -- unlike with, say, United (I pretty much can't find a date with United that isn't blacked out each time I attempt to redeem miles there). Downsides to AAdvantage: miles are expensive to redeem (you actually pay the $140 "ticket issuing fee" to redeem them, which is retarded). Also, flights tend to cost a lot of miles. Finally, there is little distinction made by distance of flight vs. miles it costs. So a flight from LA to Vegas might cost 50,000 miles for a first class ticket, whereas a flight from LA to NYC on first class will also cost 50,000. Makes no sense whatsoever. My advice on AAdvantage is to redeem the miles opportunistically. Don't use 'em just to use 'em. You really have to pick your battles wisely. The upside of American's retarded miles calculation system is that it can be gamed if you know what you're doing and you're a quant whiz. A friend of mine, who's a McKinsey consultant and travels pretty much constantly, swears he has a system figured out whereby he gains more AA miles than he spends on the tickets, thereby initiating some sort of perpetual-motion-machine type of mileage use. I actually believe the guy. But I also believe it involves creative usage of company credit cards and personal AA mileage accounts.

IIRC, seattle/chicago is ~4400miles RT. You'll make silver after your second month assuming only miles.

Definitely look at Flyertalk and also look on the airlines websites. They sometimes offer special challenges that can really add up.

I've done platinum challenge with American and it's meh. $240 is an RT ticket to most US destinations and you'd still be almost a month before meeting it. If your project only goes 3 months, you'd only have 2 months at the higher earning levels. I'd build a spreadsheet to run the numbers, but I'm thinking you wouldn't win on a 3 month gig.

Seattle/Chicago is frequently oversold, so if you can work out a deal with a pal for lodging, you might be able to make the most in bumps.

NWA had the best program, but am not sure how it is with Delta or how often you would use it after this gig.